Levi married to Lucy Ann Hotchkiss of Watertown, and the couple had five daughters. He died August 10, 1896.

RAYMOND FRENCH: PIONEER MANUFACTURER

    Raymond French was born January 7, 1805 and died in his native place of Seymour on February 19,1886. During his lifetime he was a pioneer manufacturer, taking prominent positions in many of the enterprises of his day.
    He was a descendant of William French of Essex, England, who came to America in the ship "Defense" in 1635. His grandfather, Israel French, was one of the first settlers in the Humphreysville section.
    Raymond French rose from humble beginnings in Seymour and did not have the opportunity for much schooling. He was apprenticed at an early age to work for the blacksmith Isaac Kinney, whose shop was near where the Methodist Church is now located in Seymour.
    When working for Isaac Kinney, French became proficient in the trade which contributed greatly to his success. Later he began working in an auger shop in Humphreysville and became a skillful toolmaker. He left the area in 1828 to go to the Isle of Trinidad, West Indies. Here he spent six years fitting up sugar mills with machinery. He also worked for the English government in Trinidad.
    He returned to the Seymour area in 1834 and went into partnership with John C. Wheeler manufacturing augers. In 1837 he became sole proprietor, but later joined John and Timothy Dwight. They formed Dwights and French, manufacturers of augers, bits, plane irons and other tools. They expanded the operation by opening a new plant at Kenneytown. French built the dam there in 1844 and sold it a year later.
    In 1849 the business expanded with the inclusion of more partners, forming Dwights, French and Co., which began manufacturing railroad cars. The firm was split in 1852, with French holding a controlling interest in both corporations. Part of the business, the American Car Company, eventually became the property of the Illinois Central Railroad. The Humphreysville Manufacturing Company continued with Raymond French as president until its dissolution in 1870.
    French then secured a third interest in the factories and power of the old Humphreysville Company and engaged in